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5 key questions answered about China’s one-child policy

China has overturned its one child policy, a limit on childbirth introduced in 1979. Here's what you need to know about the controversial policy and its impact

China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of the strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday. (CHINA DAILY / REUTERS)

China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of the strict one-child policy. The move is aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy. (CHINA STRINGER NETWORK / REUTERS)

China has ended its controversial one-child policy in a bid to address the country’s stark gender imbalance and aging population. We answer your questions at the end of an era for the world’s most populous country.

Why was the policy implemented?

China’s one-child policy came into effect in 1979 as the country sought to control its then-surging population of 969 million. The government also aimed to limit demands on resources like water and food.

The policy has been more strictly enforced in cities: Rural couples were allowed two children if their first-born was a girl; ethnic minorities that make up about 8.5 per cent of the population were also allowed more than one child, The Associated Press reported.

“This policy is depicted sometimes outside of China in a pretty drastic way, but in fact, up to 53 per cent of the population was not obliged to follow” it, explained André Laliberté, a political studies professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in Chinese politics.

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How was it enforced?

Chinese authorities could fine couples caught violating the policy in proportion to their income. In some cases, rural families saw their livelihood taken away in the form of their pigs and chickens, The Associated Press reported.

Women have been under tremendous societal pressure not to have more than one child. This has led to forced sterilizations, infanticide and sex-selective abortions – even though those practices were banned by the government.

China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of the strict one-child policy. The move is aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy. (CHINA STRINGER NETWORK)

What impact has the policy had?

The Chinese government says the policy prevented 400 million births. But many researchers have reported that China’s birth rate would have fallen naturally anyway as a result of higher education levels, urbanization and other factors.

“If the original goal was to control or limit the growth, you can say that the government has succeeded in achieving that. And the interesting thing is that in a way they didn’t even have to put that policy in place because urban residents were themselves thinking that raising 20 children was too expensive, so they wanted smaller families,” Laliberté told the Star.

A preference for male babies under the policy has created a stark gender imbalance, making marriage impossible for millions of men.

“When the fertility rate of a population diminishes below a certain threshold, it’s really, really difficult to come back. Those analyses in China have shown that even if families were allowed to have two children or more, there’s really a small proportion of the families that wanted to have more children,” he said.

What happens next?

Citigroup researchers say they expect a 5 to 10 per cent rise in Chinese births. But child birth is already on the decline in China, so this change may not have a huge effect.

According to U.N. figures, the fertility rate sat at 1.7 live births per woman in China between 2010 and 2015. The overall population grew at an annual rate of 0.6 per cent in that same period.

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